JPS6138067Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an improvement of a temperature control device in a vending machine.

Conventionally, in vending machines, the main body is separated by a partition wall.
It is divided into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and the upper chamber is used as a product storage where a product storage column for storing and holding the products to be sold is placed, and the lower end of the product storage column is , a discharge device is provided for discharging a predetermined number of the above-mentioned products based on sales instructions. Further, the lower chamber is configured as a machine room in which a compressor, a condenser, etc. that constitute a cooling device are housed together with an evaporator located below the upper chamber. A thermostat placed near the evaporator controls the operation of the compressor of the cooling system, and a blower placed near the evaporator circulates the air inside the product storage to maintain a predetermined temperature. Keeps cool. Therefore, in the temperature control method described above, the fan motor of the blower is constantly rotating, so even when the temperature inside the product storage is uniformly cooled, the fan motor does not rotate. Because there are
This results in a huge amount of wasted power. On the other hand, for example, as seen in the defrosting means of a refrigerator in Utility Model Publication No. 45-19746, a fan motor and a compressor are made to respond to the thermostat inside the refrigerator, and a defrost switch is interposed for the compressor. Some defrost the cooler by blowing air from the fan motor while the compressor is stopped. By the way, if the above defrosting is insufficient, the cooling efficiency will decrease, so defrosting can be performed by continuing to blow air from the fan motor with the compressor stopped. The temperature also tends to rise, and if the compressor remains stopped, there will be problems in ensuring the temperature of the items in the warehouse.For example, if the defrost switch is controlled by a timer, the defrosting time may be It becomes difficult to balance the settings. Furthermore, if an attempt is made to satisfy this requirement in terms of a circuit, there is also the problem that the control circuit configuration becomes complicated.

The present invention was devised by considering the above-mentioned problems, and has a simple structure that skillfully utilizes a thermostat and a timer to maintain the internal temperature at a predetermined temperature during defrosting and sell goods. The present invention provides a temperature control device for vending machines that can save power and improve cooling efficiency while ensuring product temperature.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a box-shaped vending machine body with an opening at the front. The interior is divided into an upper chamber 4 and a lower chamber 5 by a partition wall 3.
The upper chamber 4 serves as a product storage where a product storage column 6 for storing products is arranged, and the lower chamber 5
This is a machine room in which a compressor 8, a condenser 16, and the like constituting a refrigeration cycle as a heat source are disposed, along with an evaporator 7 disposed at the bottom of the upper chamber 4. A circulation fan 9 is provided at the bottom of the storage and circulates the air inside the product storage 4. Together with a circulation fan motor 10 that drives the circulation fan 9, it constitutes an air blower. Also, the above evaporator 7
A thermostat 11 for controlling the operation of the compressor 8 is provided near the compressor.
12 is a defrost timer provided in the electrical equipment box.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the electric circuit diagram of the present invention, where l ₁ and l ₂ are power supply busbars.
For example, the upper limit temperature for turning on between _l1 and _l2 is set to 4
A thermostat 11, the lower limit temperature of which is set to 0° C. and the compressor 8 is connected in series with the thermostat 11.
A normally open contact a of the timer contact 13 of the defrost timer 12 is connected to the connection point between the inverter 1 and the compressor 8. A normally closed contact b of the timer contact 13 is connected to the power supply bus line _l1 , while a movable contact c is connected to the power supply bus line _l2 via a parallel circuit of the circulation fan motor 10 and the defrost timer motor 14.

The operation of the temperature control device of the present invention having the above configuration will be explained based on a timing chart. When the temperature inside the product storage 4 is high when the power is turned on (at time t ₁ ), the thermostat 11 provided near the evaporator 7 senses the above state and enters the closed state, and is connected to the thermostat 11. When the compressor 8 starts operating, the circulation fan motor 10 and the defrosting timer motor 14 also operate via the normally open contact a and the movable contact c of the timer contact 13. As this cooling operation progresses, when the bottom of the product storage 4 reaches the lower limit temperature of the thermostat 11, the thermostat 11 opens and the compressor 8
stops operating, and the circulation fan motor 10 and defrosting timer motor 14 also stop operating (at time _t2 ). After the above stopped state has passed, the product storage 4
When the temperature inside rises to the upper limit of the thermostat 11, the thermostat 11 closes again.
In the same manner as described above, the compressor 8, the defrosting timer motor 14, and the circulation fan motor 10 are operated to start the cooling operation (at time _t3 ). As the cooling operation progresses, the defrosting timer mode 14 connected to the thermostat 11 via the timer contact 13 controls the closing time of the thermostat 11 (period t ₁ - t _{2 )} . , t ₃ − t ₄ period,
), and when a predetermined time limit is reached (time t ₅ ), the timer contact 13 is switched from the normally open contact a to the normally closed contact b. As a result of this switching operation, the circulation fan motor 10, which had been rotating intermittently via the thermostat 11, becomes continuous rotation via the timer contact 13 (see FIG. 4). In the above state, if the temperature inside the product storage 4 is high, the thermostat 1
1 is closed and the compressor 8 is operated to cool the inside of the product storage 4 (at time t ₅ ). Due to this cooling operation, the inside of the product storage 4 is cooled down, and when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, the thermostat 11 is opened (t _{6 )} .
The compressor 8 stops operating, but the defrosting timer motor 14 and circulation fan motor 10 are connected between the power supplies l ₁ and l ₂ via the timer contact 13, and the thermostat 11 It continues to rotate regardless of the opening/closing operation (period t ₅ - t ₁₀ ). Therefore, while the circulation fan motor 10 is rotating and the compressor 8 is stopped (period t ₆ - t ₇ and period t ₈ - _{t 9} ),
The evaporator 7 is defrosted. If the temperature inside the product storage 4 rises during the above operation, the thermostat 11 is closed, the compressor 8 is operated, and the temperature inside the product storage 4 is maintained at a predetermined temperature. On the other hand, the defrosting timer motor 14 continues to rotate via the timer contact 13, and when a certain period of time has elapsed, the movable contact c
switches from the normally closed contact B side to the normally open contact A side (at time _t10 ), and the same cooling operation as when the power is turned on described above will be repeated. (See Figure 3) As explained above, until the inside of the product storage is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the circulation fan motor rotates intermittently in synchronization with the opening and closing operations of the thermostat installed near the evaporator. Therefore, it is possible to save power during cooling. In addition, the defrost timer integrates the opening/closing time of the thermostat, and when a predetermined time is reached, switches the fan motor from intermittent operation by the thermostat to continuous operation, transitions to defrost mode, and stops the compressor. If the temperature inside the refrigerator rises due to the rotation of the fan motor, etc., the compressor immediately starts operating with priority given to maintaining the temperature inside the refrigerator. Therefore, even during defrosting, the temperature of the products for sale in the warehouse is maintained, and defrosting is completed when the compressor stops while the fan motor continues to blow air. It is possible to provide a temperature control device for a vending machine that can save power and improve cooling efficiency by simplifying the configuration without lowering cooling efficiency due to insufficient cooling.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a vending machine, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the evaporator, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show the operating state. The electrical circuit diagram shown in FIG. 5 is a timing chart. 1...Vending machine body, 4...Product storage, 7
... Evaporator, 8 ... Compressor, 9
... Circulation fan, 10 ... Circulation fan motor, 11 ... Thermostat, 12 ... Defrosting timer, 14 ... Defrosting timer motor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cooling device that cools the sales products stored in the product storage; a thermostat that controls the energization of the cooling device according to the temperature in the storage; and a thermostat that is connected to a power source through the thermostat to a timer that integrates the operating time of the air blower device that circulates the air inside the room and the cooling device, and disconnects the air blower device from the control by the thermostat and connects it directly to the power source when the cumulative time reaches a predetermined time; A temperature control device for a vending machine comprising: